Harry Axel Anderson's Obituary
CAPTAIN HARRY AXEL ANDERSON
Great Lakes Master
Captain Harry Axel Anderson, 103, a retired Great Lakes Master for the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company and a well known docent at the William G. Mather Museum Ship, passed away on May 22, 2013.
Friends may call in the Chapel at Sunset Memorial Park 6245 Columbia Rd. North Olmsted, OH 44070 from 4-8 P.M.Tuesday, May 28, 2013 where funeral services will be held Wednesday, May 29, 2013 at 10:00 A.M..
Captain Anderson was born October 5, 1909 in the Swedish province of Dalsland. In 1919 the family emigrated from Sweden to the United States and settled in Marquette, Michigan. He married Louise Herman of Marquette, Michigan, in 1934 and they resettled in Cleveland in 1938. He resided in Lakewood most of his life.
It was during the voyage from Göteborg, Sweden to New York as a 10 year old boy that Captain Anderson decided that he would pursue a seafaring career and aspired to someday become a ship captain. His sailing career, spanning 48 years on both the ocean and Great Lakes, began at the age of 17 when in 1927 he shipped out in Milwaukee as a deckhand. During his earlier years on the ocean he sailed around the world on the Dollar Line, to South America on the Grace Line, to Central America on the United Fruit Line, and on board various U.S. coastal tankers and cargo ships. During World War II he served as an officer on board the famed Liberty ships resupplying Europe with war materiel. He sailed on numerous Great Lakes ships and his career with Cleveland Cliffs lasted nearly half a century. He earned his First Class Pilotâ??s License in 1934 and served as third mate on board the Str. Joliet. His first year as second mate came in 1939 on board the Str. Marquette, and in 1942 he sailed as first mate on board the Str. Peter White. A year later at the urging of his friend Jack McCarthy, they both earned their masterâ??s licenses. McCarthy left Cliffs for Oglebay Norton and 32 years later perished on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Captain Anderson served on over thirty Cleveland Cliffs ships and was master of such notable vessels as the Strs. William G. Mather, Cliffs Victory, Walter A. Sterling, and the Edward B. Greene, the latter Cliffsâ?? flagship and his last command. Captain Anderson was also a long-standing member in the International Ship Masters Association, flag number 7007.
Captain Anderson was predeceased by his wife Louise in 2007, and his daughters Sandra May in 2005 and Cheryl Faith in 1951. Survivors include daughter Harriet Waller of Rochester, Michigan, son Raymond Anderson of Long Key, Florida, daughter Ruth Danio of Cleveland, Ohio, son Rickard Anderson of Bowie, Maryland, 15 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, and one great, great grandchild. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Marinerâ??s Church, 170 E. Jefferson, Detroit, MI. 48226 or to the William G. Mather Museum, 601 Erieside Ave., Cleveland, OH. 44114.
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